Baidu, Pony.ai Nab Licenses for Commercial Robotaxis in Beijing – BNN Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — Search giant Baidu Inc. and Toyota Motor Corp.-backed Pony.ai Inc. were granted the first batch of licenses from Beijing regulators to start open-road autonomous commercial driving operations in a part of the city equivalent to the size of Manhattan. The pilot licenses will allow a fleet of around 100 cars from the two companies to travel around the 60-square-kilometer (23 square mile) so-called Beijing High-level Automated Driving Demonstration Area, about a 30-minute drive from Tiananmen Square, according to state media reports. Baidu received 67 of the permits and will allow its robotaxis to range between more than 600…